The value of persistence
neXtgen Agri
Helping livestock producers to feel more confident and make great genetics decisions.
Welcome,
This week, we celebrated the 500,000th download of the Head Shepherd podcast. I’m very proud of this milestone and starting a podcast has been the best decision I’ve made in my professional career. The podcast has opened up so many conversations, both in and outside of the recording studio, and fundamentally changed how I think and what I do.?
It is almost scary to think that without the Covid pandemic, there’s a chance it would have never got going. Back in May 2020, we were in lockdown in Christchurch. I was out for a run (socially distant from others!), listening to a podcast and made the call to start one myself. We’d recently held our lockdown virtual conference called ‘Head Shepherd’, which had been successful, and I liked the name so that is what the podcast became.?
Of course, the podcast wasn’t an immediate success, anything but. For weeks I shouted into a vacuum – a few episodes talking to myself and a few where I found some early victims to interview. I wasn’t too far into it before it started getting hard. There’d been bugger all downloads, no one was listening, and editing was taking a heap of time and not something I enjoyed. About here it would have been easy to pull the pin and I’m sure there were days when I considered that. In fact, the majority of podcasts die at this stage. The stats show that 90% of all podcasts never make it past their third episode and, of those that do, a further 90% will have quit by the 20th episode. So just by getting to episode 21 put us in the top 1% of podcasts!?
Sometime during this early period, Sophie Barnes turned up in my life and had a passion for sheep, which extended to editing a podcast about sheep. This took the biggest pain point away, Sophie editing the podcast meant that I could do the fun bit of interviewing, without the tedious bit of editing. This is no doubt a massive success factor. However, beyond this good fortune, there was a fair amount of grit to continue to send out episodes week on week. I haven’t been back to listen, but I’m sure the first episodes were pretty rough and the timing less consistent, but we got it done and we got this far. We are currently sitting at 219 episodes - tomorrow’s will be 220 - and we keep rolling them out each Monday.
If we hadn’t persisted, there are countless things that wouldn’t have happened. The podcast has enabled us to extend the reach of neXtgen Agri far beyond what would have been possible otherwise. It makes me wonder about the many other things in life that I’ve started but never continued on with, and is a great reminder of the value of persistence. In a world filled with instant gratification, grit and determination are still among the key success factors. Long may this continue. I love watching my kids train hard and make sacrifices for a rowing regatta, a dance concert or cross country race. I know that the mental and physical fortitude to do hard things will provide them with plenty of opportunities into the future.
Of course, farming is the epicentre of persistence. It is one of the things I love so much about the industry. The ability to do hard things day in, day out, even when the rewards are not obvious or are far off into the distance, is a feature of agriculture. Perhaps that is why it doesn’t matter where you are in the world, you will almost always have something in common with a farmer.?
So while we stop and celebrate the fruits of our persistence this week with 500,000 podcast downloads, I’m asking you to also take a moment to look up and celebrate the fruits of your hard work and persistence. Take a moment to not think about the things you need to do but to celebrate the things you have done.?
Another great outcome of persistence is the revitalised LambEx conference. This great event of the Australian (and beyond) sheep industry could have vanished without the dedication and hard work of the LambEx 2024 organisers and the strong support from Sheep Producers Australia. Recently, I’ve been fortunate to have been selected onto the LambEx Taskforce to help guide the conference to continue to evolve and grow. This week, I’ve been in Adelaide, where we’ve met as a Taskforce for the first time, and I am really looking forward to bringing all of the ideas to life. It promises to be a fantastic event - put July 8-10, 2026 in your diaries now - and let’s get as many people as we can from the neXtgen community together in Adelaide.
Finally, thank you for your interest in our work at neXtgen Agri. Feel free to share this newsletter with people in your network and let them know that they can subscribe to get this each fortnight by jumping on our website or just sending me an email.
Onwards and upwards,
Ferg
OptiEwe pilot groups
Something new is coming for sheep farmers ... and you could be one of the first to be involved!
We’re launching OptiEwe, a hands-on, in-person course designed to equip you with practical tools for better decision-making. Before the full rollout, we’re looking for groups of 7-8 farm businesses to form our initial pilot groups. The pilot groups will be offered at half price.
With the majority of the eight sessions held on-farm, OptiEwe provides a platform for you and your farm team to learn from other farmers as well as your group leader. Over two years, you'll cover everything from genetics and nutrition to business, with expert advice across the board.
Being largely in-person, participants need to be within reasonable driving distance of one another. Will you be part of one of our first groups? Let us know at [email protected] or call Emma Pettigrew on 022 581 7695.
The Hub
Hub LIVE
This month’s Hub LIVE event?
For more details and to RSVP, head to The Hub.?
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Head Shepherd podcast
From the Head Shepherd archives
Future Fibre Farming
Tune in to the latest podcast episodes from our fibre goat extension work with AgriFutures Australia:?
You can listen to all episodes of the Fibre Frontier podcast on the Goat Fibre Gateway or wherever you get your podcasts.
For more information about the Future Fibre Farming programme and fibre goat production in Australia, visit the Goat Fibre Gateway.
Circle app
To get the most out of The Hub on your mobile, we recommend downloading the Circle app (Circle is the hosting platform for The Hub):
The Hub is the home of the Head Shepherd podcast and the neXtgen Agri community. It’s where you can dig deeper into livestock genetics and on-farm innovation. You’ll find like-minded people from all facets and levels of the industry, each bringing their own unique experiences and perspectives.
Joint CEO at Heiniger AU/NZ
2 周Great to be able to sponsor the podcast! Heiniger wants to help sheep producers stay in sheep production and the information you share through the Head Shepherd podcast definitely helps the industry. Keep up the great work.